Whereas a conventional laryngoscope is used by a physician to visualise the path to the trachea by manipulating the patient's anatomy to establish a direct line of sight, a video laryngoscope provides a view of the glottis and trachea without the need for such manipulation, which is clearly advantageous.
In recent times video laryngoscopes have also been provided that have removable, disposable blades, to remove the need for sterilisation.
A laryngoscope is a device which is used by clinicians during tracheal intubation and that assists with intubation by allowing the clinician to visualise the path of the endotracheal tube as it passes through the glottis towards the trachea. In its most recent form a laryngoscope comprises a handle and a blade and often includes a light source. Some laryngoscopes are also provided with viewing devices such as fibre optics and cameras. These are called video laryngoscopes.
Most intubations are straightforward and clinicians use a laryngoscope with a straight or curved blade which is positioned into the patient's airway. However, some patients are known to be difficult to intubate, especially if there are anatomical abnormalities (e.g. if the larynx lies particularly anteriorly) or if there are injuries. Intubation of these patients is more successful using a blade with a different shape, such as the “difficult blade” described in more detail below. A blade for use in difficult intubations preferably has a curved portion that smoothly follows the anatomical shape of the patient's airways, a ventrally displaced distal extension to allow a better view of the laryngeal inlet and a paddle to guide the endotracheal tube towards the laryngeal inlet.
There is currently no universal blade that can be used in all cases and a number of different blades may be desired and beneficial so that the clinician can visualise the laryngeal inlet with a choice of blade shapes depending upon clinical requirements and personal expertise and preference. Since existing video laryngoscopes are necessarily used with one compatible blade shape, the user will need to use an entirely different laryngoscope depending on the situation. For example, a clinician could insert a video laryngoscope with a standard curved blade into a patient and upon insertion realise that abnormalities are present which require a modified blade. He or she would then need a second video laryngoscope with a modified blade to visualise the laryngeal inlet, thereby adding to the cost of the equipment required to perform efficiently. The blades are often disposable and relatively cheap, whereas the handle comprising the viewing means is generally expensive. There is therefore a need for a laryngoscope which may be used with different blade shapes.
It is an object of this invention to seek to mitigate problems such as those described above.